Hoda Kotb’s Absence From ‘The Today Show’ Finally Explained

Hoda Kotb has been absent from her Today show, Today with Hoda and Jenna, since February 20, when the episode she was last seen on, aired.

For the past few weeks, various broadcasters, such as Craig Melvin, Tom Llamas and Savannah Guthrie have been filling in on her show. While her absence remained unaddressed, Kotb remained active on social media, sharing puzzling messages and quotes, including two from the book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.

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After two weeks of speculation and growing concern from her fans, her co-anchors from the Today show finally revealed the reason for her absence during a live broadcast on Wednesday.

“We know a lot of you have been wondering how she’s doing. We can tell you that Hoda is OK, [but] she’s got a family health matter that she’s been dealing with,” Melville revealed. He added that Kotb will be “back here at the desk very, very soon,” before they all sent her kisses.

After the announcement, Kotb made a brief appearance on the Friday episode of the Today show in a pre-taped interview with Chloe Lattanzi and John Easterling, daughter and husband of the late Olivia Newton–John.